Federal program funnels charity funds to interest groups

c. 2008 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Some of the nation’s most controversial public policy groups receive checks from Uncle Sam this time each year, and it’s all perfectly legal. The Combined Federal Campaign, founded in the 1950s to regulate fundraising among federal employees, has long been expanded to allow government workers to give to […]

c. 2008 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ Some of the nation’s most controversial public policy groups receive checks from Uncle Sam this time each year, and it’s all perfectly legal.

The Combined Federal Campaign, founded in the 1950s to regulate fundraising among federal employees, has long been expanded to allow government workers to give to virtually any non-profit groups _ even those with overt political engagement or those advocating religious beliefs.


Analysts say that because the initiative raises funds for the most liberal political groups and the most conservative, it is not an example of government engagement in religion.

“As long as the door is open to a variety of organizations across the political spectrum, the campaign shouldn’t be a problem,” said Robert Boston, a senior policy analyst with Americans for Separation for Church and State.

The ultimate sign that the program is kosher: Americans United, a longtime advocate against religious engagement in government, is one of the program’s recipients.

The Combined Federal Campaign allows government employees and military personnel to make charitable donations directly from their paycheck to groups that aid health and welfare. The program, which raised more than $273 million last year, seeks pledges between Sept. 1 and Dec. 15 of each year.

When it was first designed during the Eisenhower administration, the program focused on health and charitable organizations _ groups like the American Red Cross and the United Way. Public policy groups went to court in the late 1970s to become eligible to participate in the campaign, and the issue went back and forth in the courts for years.

In 1985, the Supreme Court ruled that exclusions of advocacy groups was constitutional, so long as it was done even-handedly. But Congress stepped in the next year, reinstating the public policy groups and preventing the Office of Personnel Management from changing eligibility requirements for the campaign.

Now, to be eligible, charities must be not-for-profit and have IRS tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status. That allows groups on the left, like the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign, and conservative groups on the right, like the conservative Colorado-based Focus on the Family, to solicit donations.


One group participating in the program is the Washington-based Family Research Council, which advocates for traditional family values. Spokesman J.P. Duffy said the federal campaign is not a focal point of their development plan.

“We’re happy to be a part of the campaign as an opportunity for federal employees to contribute,” Duffy said. “There’s a number of educational organizations that receive funding. It’s been a longstanding program.”

Most organizations don’t release how much money they receive each year from the CFC. But the program makes sense for charities. While the federal government takes some administrative costs off the top, officials at OPM say it costs non-profit groups more to raise funds on their own, and federal employees are more likely to give in higher amounts through the payroll deduction process.

Community Health Charities, a network of 61 health charities, was the largest recipient of CFC funds in 2006, the last year data is available. The group garnered more than $23 million. Most of the funding goes to local federations and independent groups, which in turn dole out funds to charities in the federal employee’s local community.

But there is lingering concern that money is being funneled through the federal government to partisan groups. One OPM official acknowledged that eligible charities can use the funds for their stated purpose, which includes lobbying, but noted the IRS sets limits on lobbying activities for 501(c)(3) groups. As long as a charity is in good standing with the IRS, they are free to participate in the CFC.

OPM officials said the agency reviews all applications each year to affirm the charities meet eligibility and public accountability standards.


But with so many groups participating in the program, it would be nearly impossible to weed out groups that advocate more than aid. Boston, of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, noted even groups like the Salvation Army employ lobbyists.

“The government would be loathe to wander into that minefield,” he said.

KRE/DEA END BERGER

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